''Riders of the Whistling Pines'' is a 1949 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by John English and starring

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Patricia Barry Patricia Barry (born Patricia Allen White, November 16, 1921 – October 11, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Although Barry has numerous credits performing in stage productions and in films, the majority of her work wa ...

, and Jimmy Lloyd. Written by

Jack Townley Jack Townley (March 3, 1897 – October 15, 1960) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for nearly 100 films between 1926 and 1957. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''The T ...

, the film is about a gang of outlaws who are destroying the timberland and who frame a singing cowboy on a cattle-poisoning charge, setting him up for murder.

Plot

In the North Woods, Forester Charles Carter ( Jason Robards Sr.) discovers that a

tussock moth The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The cat ...

infection is threatening to devastate the great woods. This threatens the plans of Henry Mitchell (

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

), who holds exclusive logging rights for the forest. Mitchell figures that if the moths infest and kill the trees, he can harvest all the dead trees, unencumbered by logging restrictions. When Carter tries to phone in the infestation threat, Mitchell covertly cuts the line, forcing Carter to ride into town to report the problem. Meanwhile, along the trail, Gene Autry (

) and Forester Joe Lucas (Jimmy Lloyd), who have been drinking, come across a

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

, and Gene fires several shots at the wild animal. Mitchell, who has been following the forester, uses the last shot as cover to shoot Carter in the back, leaving him where Autry will assume Carter was killed by his errant shot. At the inquest, Gene is cleared of any charges, and he is freed. He sells his interest in his forest camp, leaving the money to Carter's daughter, Helen (

). In grief, he decides to leave the area, but then discovers the moth infestation for himself. Reporting it to the forest service and discovering that his shot could not have killed Carter, he is hired to run a program of aerial spraying of

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

to kill the moth larva before the forest is destroyed. Gene includes his pal, Joe, in the aerial program, but Joe's problems with alcohol, triggered by the death of his wife, lead to trouble. Meanwhile, Mitchell has hatched a plot to stop the DDT spraying by covertly spraying a very potent poison over the local livestock, blaming the resulting sickness and death on the DDT. Joe, who has returned to sobriety with the help of Autry, finds the plane and poison being used by Mitchell, but is shot by one of Mitchell's henchmen, Bill Wright (

Damian O'Flynn Damian O'Flynn (January 29, 1907 – August 8, 1982) was an Irish-American actor of film and television originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography O'Flynn made his screen debut in ''Marked Woman'' (1937), after which he was a freelance pl ...

), as he rides to report the problem. Helen finds Joe and, with the help of Dr. Chadwick (

Harry Cheshire Harry V. Cheshire (August 16, 1891 – June 16, 1968), originally from Emporia, Kansas, was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, mostly playing small roles. He was also a stage actor and performed on a St. Louis radio ...

), brings him back from the brink of death. When Joe recovers consciousness, he reports his findings to Gene. When he learns that Wright has aroused the locals to stop the spraying operation, Gene rides to intercept them before they can destroy the planes. He reports Wright's scheme, and convinces some of the locals to go with him to check it out. Wright has dismantled the plane, and when the locals leave, he captures Gene and Forester Jerry (

Jerry Scoggins Jerry Scoggins (September 30, 1911 – December 7, 2004) was an American country/western singer, guitarist, and band leader. He performed on radio, in movies, and on television from the 1930s thru the 1980s. He was noted for his work with Gen ...

). They soon escape, however, and arrive at the airfield on time for a brawl to save the aircraft. The sheriff shows up, breaks up the fight, and confiscates everyone's weapons. With the help of Helen and Dr. Chadwick, Gene makes Mitchell and Wright believe he is holding the bullet removed from the injured Joe, and that it will be traced to Wright's confiscated rifle. Mitchell, Wright, and Pete ride to confront Autry, with Mitchell dropping off at a shack along the way to ambush Gene, should he get away. Wright confronts Gene, and after more fighting, he gets away. Pete, however, is captured and leads Gene to a trap by telling him he can find Wright at the shack where Mitchell is waiting. Later, Pete tries to cut a deal by confessing the truth. Joe realizes he will never catch up to Gene in time to save him, so he rides to the airfield to try an aerial intercept. Wright forces his way onto the plane at gunpoint to escape justice, but once in the air, Joe points out that if he is shot there is no one to fly the aircraft. Joe flies over Gene to warn him, and when that doesn't work, he selflessly crashes the plane into the shack, killing Wright, Mitchell, and himself. Gene returns to finish the spraying job, with the clear understanding that his future includes a permanent forestry job and married life with Helen.

Cast

as Gene Autry *

as Helen Carter (credited as Patricia White) * Jimmy Lloyd as Forester Joe Lucas *

as Henry Mitchell *

as Henchman Bill Wright *

Clayton Moore Clayton Moore (born Jack Carlton Moore, September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999) was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character the Lone Ranger from 1949 to 1952 and 1953 to 1957 on the television series of the sa ...

as Henchman Pete *

as Dr. Daniel Chadwick * Leon Weaver as Abner Weaver *

as Forester Jerry, Guitar Player * Fred S. Martin as Forester Freddie, Accordion player * Bert Dodson as Forester Bert, Bass player * The Pinafores as Singing Trio * Beulah Kettle as Singing Sister * Ione Kettle as Singing Sister * Eunice Kettle as Singing Sister *

Lane Chandler Lane Chandler (born Robert Clinton Oakes, June 4, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American actor specializing mainly in Western (genre), Westerns. Biography Early life Chandler was raised on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the so ...

as forestry officer (uncredited) * Jason Robards Sr. as Forester Charles Carter (uncredited) *

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

as Champion, Gene's Horse

Production

Filming locations

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, United States * Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, United States * Cedar Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, United States * Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, United States The film used two filming locations in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

Wildwood Regional Park Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, and southern Moorpark. Wildwood is home to over 27 mi ...

(Janss Conejo Ranch) and the now defunct

Conejo Valley Airport Conejo Valley Airport, also known as Janss Airport, was an airport in Thousand Oaks, California. It had a 2,600 foot runway and was located adjacent to Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The airport opened in 1926, but was relocated in the early 1960s. The ...

.Reid, John Howard (2006). ''Great Hollywood Westerns: Classic Pictures, Must-See Movies & "B" Films''. Lulu, Inc. Page 126. .

Soundtrack

* "It's My Lazy Day" (

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...

) by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys * "Toolie Oolie Doolie" (Vaughn Horton, A. Beul) by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys * "Hair of Gold" ( Sunny Skylar) by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys and The Pinafores * "Let's Go" by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys * "Let's Go Roaming Around the Range" by The Cass County Boys * " Every Time I Feel the Spirit" by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys * "Little Big Dry" (Billy Webster) by Gene Autry and The Cass County Boys

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riders of the Whistling Pines 1949 films 1949 Western (genre) films 1940s action films 1949 adventure films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by John English 1940s English-language films 1940s American films